Rubikon

Awaken

self-released

Well, chalk up another casualty to the “good band with terrible singer” category. The opening 45 seconds or so of Rubikon rocked my pants off, but when lead singer Jae started his, well, umm… whatever it is that he’s trying to do, my stomach began to churn and I grew ill.

Yes, and sadly, the back up band for this guy is fantastic. Their guitars are completely ferocious and intimidating! The drumming is really big and powerful, especially considering these guys put this record out themselves. The bass guitar was laid down perfectly, not too loud, but loud enough that the graininess and scraping on strings could still be heard. It also sounds as if the band laid down several tracks of guitar, as they have an especially thick and destructive sound when enjoyed on a pair of headphones.

I think that there should be a disclaimer at every recording studio, across the country; it should read, in big red letters: “Attention vocalists: Scott Stapp of Creed is not a singer that should be emulated; please reconsider wrecking your band’s album by trying to sound like him.” I truly believe that such a sign would keep a respectable band like Rubikon from wallowing in the mire of spending a ton of cash on a recording that could have been great, without the corny vocalist.

Fans of major label nu-metal bands will enjoy this though. Similar sounding bands include Alice In Chains, Hoobastank, Jerry Cantrell, Creed, Chevelle, and a score of other new bands that all rip each other off.